Rome: An added on time Cristiano Ronaldo penalty rescued a 1-1 draw for Juventus at 10-man AC Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal played Thursday.
Ante Rebic’s volley gave the hosts a deserved lead after 61 minutes, following a string of good saves from veteran Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
But Stefano Pioli’s side were reduced to 10 men for the final 18 minutes when defender Theo Hernandez was shown a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Paulo Dybala.
Juventus were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, which showed that a Ronaldo scissor kick had struck the arm of Milan defender Davide Calabria.
The Portuguese forward smashed the spot-kick into the roof of the net to earn his side a draw ahead of the second leg in Turin, March 4.
Napoli defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the first leg of the other semifinal in Milan played Wednesday.
Juventus never looked their fluent self against AC Milan. They failed to dominate the midfield and Ronaldo was seen shouting himself hoarse as the supply of passes upfront stopped.
Agencies
